Voyager 1 finds unknown region at edge of solar system

Dec. 4, 2012
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Artist's concept shows Voyager 1 (top) and Voyager 2 spacecraft in a previously unknown region at the edge of interstellar space. Voyager 1, launched in 1977, could become the first human-made object to leave our solar system in the relatively near future. / NASA/JPL-Caltech

by Michael Winter, USA TODAY

by Michael Winter, USA TODAY

The Voyager 1 spacecraft is traveling through a previously unknown region of deep space as it heads out of our solar system, which might happen soon, scientists reported Monday.

Voyager and its twin, Voyager 2, were launched in 1977 and will become the first man-made objects to exit our celestial neighborhood -- relatively soon.

"We don't know exactly how long it will take," Edward Stone, a project scientist, told reporters during a teleconference, Space.com reports. "It may take two months, it may take two years."

"We do believe this may be the very last layer between us and interstellar space," he said. "This region was not anticipated, was not predicted."

Both spacecraft, which continue to send data back to Earth, are in the heliosheath, the outermost layer of the heliosphere. That's where the force of interstellar cosmic ray particles slows the solar wind generated by the sun.